Song Dynasty

The story of “Shen Xiu Causes Seven Deaths with One Bird” is about the main character, Shen Xiu, who’s bird literally causes seven deaths. The story begins in the third year of the Xuanhe regin period under Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty. A weaver named Shen Yu lived with his wife named Yan by the New North Bridge, outside Wuilin Gate, in the prefecture of Ninghai. The couple had an eighteen year old son named Shen Xiu who was not yet married. “The father made his living by weaving fabrics,…

of the year. That is until the first emperor of Han passed through the country of Lu in 195 CE and sacrificed at the tomb of the sage. This action marks the beginnings of national worship of Confucius. This also prompted three emperors of the Han dynasty, Ming-ti, Cheng-ti, and Zhang-ti, to offer sacrifices in honor of Confucius and his seventy-two disciples. These sacrifices were presented to several kinds of visual representations of Confucius. Sculptures in Confucian temples received regular…

The Origins of Daoism It is explained in three different theories listed below. Attitudinal Daoism I: Anarchism Attitudinal Daoism II: Authoritarian Intuitionism Pre-Laozi Daoist Theory Much of the thrust of Daoism, as we have seen, naturally motivates a reaction against the moralistic and elitist inclinations of Confucianism. Confucianism stood for a rigid, detailed, traditional pattern of hierarchical social behavior. Duties were assigned to all of one's social roles—and a person typically…

Amoung the ruler in this era, Ashoka of India Mauyran dynasty really stood out both if Personal change he experiment for the benevolent philosophy of government. Time as an emperor began is a similar way ruthless consolidation of his power and also his speedy expansion of the state frontiers. A very bloody…

are unable to walk at all” , when another girl “ couldn’t sleep at night” . From the memories of those who had bend their feet, it is clearly that the process of Footbinding was extremely painful. Despite of it, Footbinding was prevailed since Ming dynasty and wasn’t fade away until 20th century. Anthropologist and historians had different predictions of reasoning. Dorothy Ko hold her own explanations about this by providing…

sacrifice much specific details in favor of presenting the general history trend. Although many interesting points such as the lack of innovation in the silk industry or the rises of merchant class in Song dynasty were mention in the film, the treatment of the intellectual scholars during the Qin dynasty seems most intriguing. Qin Shi Huang, the first…

the open sea was seen as impossible. The people that would conquer this phenomena would not be European explorers of 1400-1700. Fairly, the major technological, technical and conceptual turning points would be taken by the Chinese under the Ming Dynasty. China saw itself as a land-centered society and a land power, so it never saw the need to explore the broad Pacific and South China Sea shoreline. China was a massive country and was the largest country until the mid-late 18th century, so China…

foot binding, “I knew that already because every woman I ever saw had bound feet. Before the Communists came I never even heard of a woman not having bound feet.” Foot binding began in tenth century China and was very popular during the Song and the Qing dynasties. Although it caused many health complications and lifelong disabilities, foot binding became popular by a process of displaying status and also embraced as a symbol of beauty in Chinese culture. Women were affected by foot binding in…

“When the Master governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists” wrote Lao Tzu. This passage highlights how Taoist view passivity to govern. “Tao Te Ching” written by Lao Tzu is a classic book on Chinese philosophy that was completed in the 4th century BC. Tao Te Ching translates to “The book of the Way of Virtues” in English. This book has 81 extremely short yet poetic chapters, which are filled with a variety of meaningful messages conveyed in a riddle-like form that takes readers into…

"The Great Khan" Kublai Khan, a Mongolian emperor in 1260 AD, was one of the wisest emperors in ancient Chinese history. He is the only ruler in the Khan family to successfully guide an empire over a long period of time. He built a strong government and is a military genius. Kublai is beloved and thought of as a hero to the Mongols and Chinese. He is known for his leadership skills at a young age, successful military strategies, and building one of the largest empires in history which impacted…